Molplex today announced it has raised £350,000 from the UK’s North West Fund for Biomedical, a fund managed by Spark Impact and funded jointly by the ERDF and the European Investment Bank.

The funds will allow Molplex to extend its automated drug discovery technology platform and advance its current pipeline of internal and partnered discovery projects, including the development of new medicines for Dengue Virus, new antibiotics for resistant bacteria, persistent Tuberculosis, and other programmes for serious human diseases. The company drug discovery programmes focus on infectious diseases, dermatology and cancer.
Molplex will set up a base in the North West of England to host its High-Performance Computing requirements, in addition to its administrative and managerial roles. Laboratory operations will remain in the North East.

Molplex CEO David Leahy commented “We would like to thank The North West Fund for Biomedical for supporting our transformation into the first of a new class of an ultra-effective drug discovery business. Molplex’s novel approach to the automation of drug discovery decision making can radically lower the cost of inventing new medicines, while increasing the quality of the new drug candidates. This funding creates an opportunity for us to convert that promise into reality.”

Penny Attridge,senior investment director at SPARK Impact and fund manager for The North West Fund for Biomedical, said: “We are really excited to be working with David and the team from Molplex and see a bright future for the company.”

Law firm Ward Hadaway advised the Fund in the investment, while Turner Parkinson advised the company. Epiphany Capital advised the company in the fund raising.